1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a scalpel for opening the meninx.
2. Description of Related Art
The opening of the meninx is a procedure that has existed since the beginning of neurosurgery. Since the end of the nineteenth century, but primarily after the start of modern neurosurgery, primarily scissors were used for the surgical opening of the meninx. Moreover, fine surgical forceps are also used to pull the unimpaired meninx from the piarachnoid surface. The opening process is done with a knife. Then the meninx is incised with pointed curved scissors. It is often advantageous to put a small moist wad of cotton under the meninx through the first opening in order to protect the cerebral cortex lying underneath. It is also possible to use a small grooved probe and a knife to open the meninx. For repeated openings the knife should be used carefully owing to synechiae between the pachy- and leptomeningeal surfaces or between the meningeal cortex and vessels.
The opening of the meninx can be an easy and safe, but also a very difficult procedure. The difficulties are a function of various factors:
thickness of the meninx PA1 additional meningeal sinuses PA1 pontine vessels inside the meningeal surface PA1 aggressiveness of the swollen and thus weak brain and the virtual subarachnoid space. In such a state the opening of the meninx becomes a difficult and potentially dangerous procedure.